Car-couplsng



2 sheets-sheet 2.

N. A I wm. IM RM HP .CU .m LR Sm .0M W uw d O M o m No. 454,534. Patented'June 23, 1891.

` NITEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM CHRISTIAN AND SAMUEL L. CHRISTIAN, OF LANTZS MILL, VIRGINIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,534, dated June 23, 1891. Application filed March 25, 1891. Serial No. 386,402. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM CHRISTIAN and' SAMUEL L. CHRISTIAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Lantzs Mill, in the county of Shenandoah and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers for Use on Railroads; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear7 and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying` drawings, in which- Figure l shows a longitudinal sectional View on line .fr a: of Fig. 2 of our car-coupler; Fig. 2, a plan view of the top of the same; Fig. 3, a cross-section on line y y, Fig. l; Figs. 4 and views of a modified form of our locking and releasing mechanism.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the iigures.

Our invention relates to an improvement in car-couplers, the object being to provide a couplerconstructed of few parts and designed to automatically engage and lock a link carried by an opposing draw-head, thereby enabling the cars to be automatically coupled, consequently lessening the danger ordinarily encountered in coupling with the ordinary coupler.

A further object is to provide an automatic coupler designed for use with the ordinary link, whereby a car having our improved coupler thereon can be readily and quickly coupled to a car having the ordinary pincoupler thereon.

lVith these ends in view our invention consists in the parts and combinations of parts, as will be more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents a draw-head of usual-exterior form, provided with an interior recess a for the reception of the common coupling-link, and terminates at its outer end in a rectangular bell-mouth of ordinary form. Mounted loosely within a recess a in the forward portion oi' the draw-head is the couplinghook B, which is pivoted and capable of rotation upon the pin l). This hook consists of the body portion b and the long and short arms b2 D, respectively, the space between the arms h2 bforminga semicircular recess, which is adapted to receive and contain the ordinary coupling-link C, as illustrated in the drawings. The coupling-hook when in its locked position rests with its two arms b2 b3 upright, the longer arm Zr being near the outer end of the draw-head, as shown in Fig. l. For retaining the said coupling-hook in its locked position and releasing it when desired,wee1n ploy the following mechanism. In a recess a2 in the upper forward portion of the drawhead is located a locking-bar D, attached to and depending from each end of which is a bar D', the lower end of each of which is supported upon the draw-head at c4. Formed within the rear side near the lower end of each depending bar D is a semicircular Iecess d, into which [its the forward correspondingly-shaped end of a vertically-swinging lever E, fulcrumed at e to the draw-head, the two levers E and E being secured at their rear ends to a bar F, located in the recess in the rear portion of the draw-head. The bar Fis of dovetailed shape in cross-section for the purpose of receiving and supporting in position the operating-pin G, that projects from the longitudinal center of said bar up through an opening cT in the upper side of the draw-head.

For holding the coupling-hook retaining and releasing mechanism in its locked position, we provide the coiled spring II, the upper coil of which is secured to the underside of the bar F below the operating-pin G, while its lower coil rests within a smaller recess provided in the bottom of the recess a5 of the draw-head.

For the purpose of putting the several parts of our coupling-hook retaining and releasing mechanism in place, a portion of each sideof the draw-head is made removable, as seenin Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, and over the recess a2 is placed a cap-plate I, secured to the draw-head in any desired manner.

Vith the coupling-hook occupying the positionshown by dotted lines in Fig. l of the drawings, the long arm b2 resting in the lower part of the recess c upon the part as, with the short arm lf' projecting above the lower side of the recess u., the parts of our device are in position for the insertion of the coupling- IOO link. WV hen the parts are in this position, the short arm rests in the path of the link entering the draw-head, 'and the link entering the recess a strikes the projecting arm b3, causing it to rotate upon its pivot until the said arm b3 comes in contact with the Wall 0:9 at the rear end of the recess a. The long arm; b2 in the above-described movement of thev coupling-hook strikes the under side of 'the locking-bar, which lies in its path, causes it to move upward, and passes beyond it, 'vs/hen4 instantly, under the pressure of the 'spring H,

the locking-bar and its connecting parts returnto their normal positions, the locking-1; bar, as will be seen in full lines of Fig. 1, securely fastening the coupling -h'ook in its locked position.

To unlock the coupling-hook Sand'release; the coupling-link, pressure is applied to the operating-pin, which movement, through' t'h'e swinging bars E, raises the looking-basent *of y the path of the arm b2, allowing itto rotate in a forward direction.

By locating the pivot of the hook Bat 'af point approxi-mately in line with the vshorterarm b3 of the hook, as :shown infdotted lines, Fig. l, it Will be seen lat a `glance that Ias soon as the locking-bar is elevatedto 'release the hook the Weight of the link Willeause the hook to turn to an unlocked'position.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings We showa modification of our locking and releasing mechanism. In this modified form We connect the swinging levers E directly With the locking-bar I), thus dispensing With the depending bars D. Obviously, in order to accomplish the'above, the swinging levers must be located in substantially the same plane with the locking-bar.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim is- 1. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a draw-head and the pivoted U-shaped hook,

Vof the vertically-sliding horizontal lockingf substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of two Witnesses.

IVM. CHRISTIAN.v SAMUEL L. CHRISTIAN. Witnesses:

S. E. ToMLINsoN, A. A. HAYES. 

